How do you organize your credit cards?

A

asthejoeflies

Moderator
Staff member
Both physically (sock drawer) and online (keeping track of annual fees, whatever else you keep track of)?

I'd love to hear people's systems! Need some ideas...sock drawer.......failing.
 
Miles to the Wild

Miles to the Wild

Level 2 Member
Excel spreadsheet that lists card, date statement posts, amount spent, date annual fee posts and countdown to minimum spend for a new card.
 
E

El Ingeniero

Level 2 Member
4 wallets: one for non-MS daily use, one for making MS purchases, one for gift cards and unloading them, one for sock drawer.

I use a passport wallet for holding gift cards and unloading vehicles, it has a lot of room for holding cash, receipts, gift cards, receipts, BB/PP/Tmob cards and what have you. I've gotten it 2 inches thick, and still had room for more, though at that point it doesn't fit in any pocket I have.

I track purchases separately. I've looked at Milenomics most recent system, but I think it can be improved on. For now, I churn in small batches.
 
O

Outlying Anomaly

Level 2 Member
+1 for Excel w/data filtering and lots of color (nasty annual fees in bold red). Columns for details on what the spend, M/P bonus(es), etc. are for those "which card had the X" moments. Color is plentiful, non-waived fees in nasty bolded red.

I keep cards I may apply for on another sheet with pros/cons for the husband that needs the bullet points but wants to not bother with how the sausage is made. Move them to other sheet when I apply.

I also write extensive notes in LastPass since logins can get confusing, plus it's significantly more secure.

Physical cards are by primary card holder in 2 envelopes. Hope you're joking about the sock drawer - first place a thief would look is in a dresser drawer, or in that obviously fake can of Barbasol!
 
wheater

wheater

Level 2 Member
Excel for data. I have a binder with baseball card sleeves where each card has its designated spot w/ a short description to remind me where I should use the given card. (ex. "5x at Office" "3x at Restaurants"). Every morning I take the cards that I think I will need. Glad I hung onto my baseball card supplies!
 
N

new2points

Level 2 Member
+1 to Excel spreadsheets. I track MS per card per month, cost and profit because I mix in 5% CB. Grocery, restaurant and drugstore cards are fixed, gas is usually fixed except for when discover 5% rolls around.

Spreadsheet also includes retention offers, AF due date, minimum spending required, date met etc.
 
StammesOpfer

StammesOpfer

Level 2 Member
Charity Forum Mod
Physical cards are organized in a Business card file box alphabetically by issuing bank name. Amex, Barclay, Chase, Discover (new phonetic alphabet?)

Digitally I keep my spreadsheet in Google Docs/Drive just easier for me to track and access. I track Open dates, CLI date, and any AF due. I also track point earning and value (Citi Forward earns 5x but I value .8 so effective earn is 4x) lets me make sure I am using best card.

I also use the Wallaby App (http://www.walla.by) occasionally which helps confirm the best card sometimes. I am actually surprised I don't hear about this more in these circles I guess most of us have a pretty good handle on which card is best for us though.

Oh and just to make sure I don't accidentally leave the right card at home I have my Loop FOB (http://www.looppay.com) so I have all cards at all times. Also easier to pull up a card in the app to fill in info online than digging it out of my card file box. Also waiting on Coin (https://onlycoin.com) don't know how that fits in yet.
 
S

Sesq

Level 2 Member
I use 2 wallets and 2 biz card holders for the physical cards.

Primary wallet - Current Min Spend card(s) 1-3 (sometimes a quarterly rotator makes the cut); Arrivals (2.2% backup), Category cards - Ink, Old BC, Forward.

Secondary wallet is a passport holder. MS supplies including prepaids and certain MS only cards.

Biz card holders - 1 for the live cards, one for the cancelled cards

I keep a google docs spreadsheet. Key tabs are:

Point balances & member #'s (I do some valuation)
Application History (includes app dates, retentions, cancel dates, perk earned, etc)
Min Spend (current and historical)
MS (total charges by card per month, total liquidated per month - essentially double entry accounting, if they don't match, then something wasn't liquidated)
Prepaids (basically a check register for each card)
Trip History and Ideas
 
O

Outlying Anomaly

Level 2 Member
@asthejoeflies I knew I was a newb, but actually seeing the term "sock drawering" by complete chance on FT late last night as I researched the US Airways card made me feel like a total idiot.

I hope I didn't injure anyone by causing contagious eye rolling. :rolleyes: :D
 
Haley

Haley

I am not a robot
I use a binder with the Avery Business card sheets, and full size top loading pages.
The fit is perfect, tight but they easily slide out if I need them.

I have one page for Evolve, with a sharpie I mark bill pay date and $ amount. That way I remember to have a GC on hand when I need it. I have two pages for each Serve account, I fill them and each slot is numbered so a quick glance tells me if I'm done for the month.

Primary CC accounts are organized by bank, then AU cards (mostly just Am Ex). A page or two for my Buxx cards. In the full size top loading pages I keep a print out of online order confirmations or receipts until they arrive, and a print out of my spend tracking sheets. I track each card as a simple running total, like a checkbook, debit/credit and to/from is noted. A match to my online statements once a week or two.

I rest each card for a week, the last week of the statement. That way there are no last minute scrambles to pay before a balance reports. Accounts I pay from get tracked the same way.

I need a bigger cross cut shredder.
 
F

Fuerza

Guest
2 rubber bands, credit cards in the front, debit cards in the middle and prepaid cards in the back.
 
R

RamboAroundTheWorld

Guest
binder clip for holding. desk drawer for storage. brain for procesing.
 
W

Wings

Level 2 Member
Excel file with Open/Close Dates,Credit Limit,When AF is due, and estimated age (always want to make sure I don't accidentally close a no AF old card). Physically, I just use one ziplock bag for credit cards and another for loyalty cards.
 
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